kickerdad - , reviewed on 4/23/2020 + 114 more book reviews

"Into the Wild" by John Krakauer is thought-provoking book on various levels. It teases to be the true-life story of a early twenties angst ridden teen who after graduating college treks across America eventually making his way to Alaska. It turns into so much more - and more isn't always better. While I was engaged by the book, it was more the path of the trek of Chris McCandless, our intrepid hero, or anti-hero, depending on your perspective. And Krakauer paints a beautiful portrait of some of the complex environs and circumstances in which Chris puts himself. It was interesting to learn about other pseudo-adventurers who have had stories that somewhat paralleled those of Chris McCandless. I found dealing with the self-indulgent presentation and underlying assumptions distracting. Conclusions were asserted that made you wonder how the author ever got to the point being made, only to find out later he made much more information. The book feels forced, as if the author was trying to hard to make it a more interesting read. And I found the vocabulary indulgent. I am not claiming to be brighter than I am, but I don' frequently run into words I am unfamiliar with. Even if I don't know their meaning I would have at least heard of them and understood them in their context. I am not talking about jargon. I get jargon. I stumbled across words in "Into The Wild" that I had never ever heard of on a very regular basis. There was hard a 4-5 pages where I wasn't asking myself "what the . . .?"
I won't judge Chris McCandless. Like all of us he has his strengths of character and his weaknesses. Whether you think him hero or fool will be totally dependent of which characteristics you value most. Read the book. Observe your reactions. You'll learn about yourself. [3.5/5]

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